Embodied Mercy
Body and Blood of Christ In the Gospels, we often see Jesus put word and action together, where his action embodies his words. We see this most clearly in the Johannine Gospels whenever he said, “I am,” such as when … Read More
True Hospitality
The 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time In one of the Facebook groups I participate in, a friend posed the question, “How do I get my parishioners to be more hospitable?” People offered suggestions like scheduling hospitality teams, training ushers, asking … Read More
Dismissal matters for all of us
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time In communities where there are adults and children of catechetical age preparing for baptism, the church dismisses them before the Creed when they are present at Mass. This dismissal of catechumens is part of their … Read More
We Gather in Christ’s Name
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time This week our nation celebrates Independence Day. The Sundays that surround that holiday sometimes become a testing ground for music ministers and liturgists. Should you include patriotic songs and other national symbols into the Mass … Read More
Surrounded by the Spirit
Most Holy Trinity With the Father and the Son taking “top billing,” the third Person of the Trinity sometimes gets left out from our liturgical focus, relegated to being imagined simply as a bird or confined only to Pentecost and … Read More
Embrace the mystery of the Holy Spirit
Pentecost How do you picture the Holy Spirit? We can imagine a haloed bird hovering or “tongues as of fire.” We can sense the Spirit as wind in its many forms: breath, breeze, gusts, air. But how do you describe … Read More
Joyfully living the commission
Ascension This Ascension, let us focus less on where Christ went and more on what Christ did. Christ entered heaven’s sanctuary that we might “have confidence of entrance . . . by the new and living way he opened for … Read More
How will your Pentecost liturgy define your idea of “church?”
Seventh Sunday of Easter As we near Pentecost, some parishes may be preparing to incorporate various languages and cultural elements into the Mass. Many of these communities are already multicultural, so intercultural worship is a necessity for their unity. On … Read More
Why you should rethink the choir’s summer break
Sixth Sunday of Easter Some parishes give the choir a “break” during the summer. Rest is important. Even God rested! But we might rethink this practice of giving music ministers a formal break from the Sunday Mass. One reason is … Read More
Help your neophytes celebrate through the whole Easter season!
Fifth Sunday of Easter While everyone else is starting to look forward to summer, we’ve only come to the halfway point of Easter! Especially because Easter Sunday came so late this year, we might start to feel a bit like … Read More